Reactions
by cuddlyhipster
Summary: Fill for the kink meme. The rest of the Guardians react to discovering that Peter and Drax are dating. Could be seen as taking place in the "More than a Family" universe, but can also be read as a stand-alone. T for minor language and Rocket seeing something he REALLY doesn't want to see.
1. Chapter 1

**Sooo, like pretty much everything else I've posted so far, I wrote this for a fill on the kink meme. Prompt was pretty simple: "The rest of the Guardians react to Peter and Drax becoming a couple." I just couldn't pass that up, so here it is :)**

**Usual disclaimers apply. I don't own GotG. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, I'll put them back when I'm done. ;)**

1. Gamora

There were a lot of upsides to living on the Milano instead of working for Ronan or Thanos. Such as having her own bed, getting to eat whatever and whenever she wanted, and not being ordered around by a couple of madmen. Gamora, for the first time in her life, got to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to do it, and she used that ability for little luxuries that others might've taken for granted. Like getting up in the middle of the night to get a snack when she was hungry, instead of having to wait for her next scheduled mealtime.

She was doing precisely that one night, fixing herself a snack in the kitchenette, when she heard voices coming from the front of the ship. That was odd. It was the middle of the night; shouldn't everyone be in bed? She picked up a sharp knife (just in case), and headed towards the front to see what the trouble was.

As she got closer, she recognized Peter's voice and relaxed a little. But before she could go back to the kitchenette she heard what he was saying, and she stopped in her tracks. "…just don't want to tell them, not yet I mean. It's still too…new, I guess."

What could Peter be hiding from them? Gamora edged closer to the control room and pressed herself flat against the wall. But she nearly fell out of her hiding spot when she heard Drax reply, "You believe their involvement would complicate our relationship?"

What? Peter Quill, the unchallenged king of awkward one-night stands, was in a _relationship_? With _Drax_? Gamora choked back the desire to laugh. She wasn't sure if this was hilarious or insane. Maybe a bit of both.

"Or maybe I don't want to share you just yet." Gamora peeked into the control room just in time to see Peter crawl into Drax's lap. That was one of the most amusing sights Gamora had ever seen, considering that Drax was several inches taller and at least twice Peter's weight. She'd never thought of Peter as small before now, but seeing him in Drax's lap changed her mind.

But when they kissed it wasn't funny. It was…sweet, actually. The way Drax protectively wrapped his arms around Peter, the way Peter melted against Drax with a blissful sigh; the obvious bond between the two of them…Gamora didn't typically waste her time with romance, whether it was hers or others'. But watching this was actually nice. It was a reminder, if a somewhat interesting one, that there was real love in the world.

"I love you," she heard Peter whisper before Drax kissed him again, and okay, she'd never admit it in a million years, but that _may_ have caused her to think _awww, that's so sweet_. She tiptoed away from her hiding place and back to the kitchen to give them some privacy.

~o~

Yes, overall, Gamora definitely approved of her teammates' new relationship. But that didn't stop her from sending a subtle message to Drax the next morning, when Peter was messing with the Milano's malfunctioning coffeemaker and had his back to them. Groot and Rocket were still God-knows-where, so Gamora felt no qualms about attracting Drax's attention, nodding towards Peter, and holding a finger to her lips. He raised his eyebrows at her and mouthed 'what?'

Silently, Gamora pointed to Peter, then back to Drax, and mouthed "You two?" and, after a brief look of surprise, he nodded. So she pointed to Peter again, placed a hand over her heart, and drew an "x," then pointed to Drax, and finally, drew a finger across her throat. That last gesture she knew for a fact he understood, having been there when Peter explained it to him.

As Peter turned around Gamora quickly put her hands in her lap. "You two are awfully quiet. What's going on?" he asked.

Drax shrugged. "Gamora was just silently informing me that if I cause any harm to your heart, she will slice my throat," he said matter-of-factly. "It seems she has discovered our relationship."

"What? But—how—" Peter sputtered.

"I followed you," Gamora explained. "And I mean it, Drax. Hurt him and you deal with me."

Because maybe they were both her teammates, but Peter trusted her first and he stuck up for her when Drax had a knife to her throat, so yes, her loyalty was to him. And if Drax didn't like it, well, that was just too bad for him.

"Aww, that's sweet. I didn't know you actually gave that much of a crap about me, Gamora," Peter said, his eyes flicking nervously between her and Drax, who seemed to have taken the entire thing in stride.

"You saved my life, twice. I owe you," she reminded him. "Besides, of the people in this room, you are the only one who has never threatened me with death, so it follows that I would feel the most loyalty towards you."

"That…makes a sick kind of sense," Peter agreed, looking more than a little uncomfortable with this whole damn thing.

But he didn't seem to mind too much…so long as she didn't object to Drax pulling him into his lap. Gamora wondered if she'd ever get used to the sight of the Guardians' self-appointed leader being cuddled senseless by someone whose terrifying reputation had earned himself the nickname "the Destroyer."


	2. Chapter 2

2. Groot

Groot was sitting in the park, soaking up some sunlight on a rare visit to a humanoid-inhabited planet - he'd tuned out Rocket when he'd mentioned which planet it was - when he saw quite an interesting sight. Peter and Drax were walking along, holding hands. And what was even more interesting was that they stopped at one point, and Drax made Peter turn around so he could kiss him.

Very interesting.

Groot picked up a lot more details of human (or humanoid) culture than people tended to think he did. And he knew that when humans put their faces together like that, it meant that they cared about each other the way he cared about Rocket.

Groot also happened to know that Peter didn't like to stay with one person for too long. He'd seen the many pretty alien girls and strapping alien boys come one after another through the Milano, never to be seen again. So he wondered how long this was going to last, this Peter-kissing-Drax business. Maybe by the next day they wouldn't kiss anymore. Groot decided the only thing to do was wait and find out.

But then it got more interesting, because Peter continued to let Drax kiss him. Over and over again. Groot watched, usually hiding himself behind the boiler or the refrigerator or other large fixtures, as Drax pushed Peter against walls, threw Peter onto couches, and came up behind Peter to entrap him, before overwhelming him with kiss after kiss. When this had gone on for several weeks Groot finally understood that, even though Peter may not have previously liked to kiss only one person for a long period of time, this was different. Peter wanted Drax, and only Drax, to kiss him.

Groot was sure he knew more about his teammates than they knew about each other. When he was a sapling, still re-growing after crashing on the _Dark Aster_, his teammates had often come and talked to him, even though he couldn't answer back, because Peter had told them all that talking to a plant could help it grow. Soon, they'd gone from simply speaking to him, to actually venting to him. And he'd heard it all. He'd heard plenty from both Drax and Peter, both of whom had been careful never to speak of each other, and now Groot saw why: they had been afraid of being found out.

He'd heard all about how Peter didn't like staying with one person because he didn't think they would put up with him for more than a night or two. He'd heard about Drax's growing crush on "someone else" and knew how Drax had struggled with the idea of having romantic feelings for _anyone_ because he was afraid it meant he was forgetting his wife. He'd heard one confession, in the middle of the night while Peter was saturated with Xandarian vodka, that all he wanted was to fall in love with someone, but he didn't think he knew _how_. The very next day Drax had complained that Peter was so _irresponsible_, going out at all hours, drinking so much, didn't he know that he could get _hurt_ without someone _stronger_ around to protect him?

Honestly, with all of that taken into account, Groot had to mentally scold himself for taking so long to notice that a relationship had blossomed between his two teammates. No wonder Rocket was always calling him "idiot." How could he have not seen this before? He'd have to do something to make up for it.

So one evening Groot waited until Peter had gone to bed, before he cornered Drax in the kitchenette. Drax looked up when he heard Groot approach. "Do you need something, Groot?"

Groot shook his head. "I am Groot," he explained, growing several flowers in the palm of his hand. He knew humans liked to give each other flowers when they were kissing each other like Drax and Peter were. He handed off the flowers to Drax, then pointed down the hall towards Peter's bedroom before adding emphatically, "I am Groot." Meaning, obviously, _if I were you, I'd give those to Peter so he'll keep kissing you._

It wasn't likely Drax would understand - sometimes it seemed like he never understood Groot. But this time, apparently, he did. "Ah. I see. These are for Peter. Am I to understand that you now know about the nature of our relationship?" Groot nodded. A look of concern came over Drax's face. "You will not tell Rocket? I don't believe Peter wants him to know just yet."

Why Peter didn't want Rocket to know, Groot didn't understand. But he didn't want to betray Drax's trust, so he agreed to keep the secret. "I am Groot."

"I will assume you just consented, given the head nod. Thank you, Groot. I appreciate it, and I'm sure Peter will too." With a smile, Drax headed down the hall, flowers in hand.

Groot smiled to himself. As a general rule, he liked when people were happy. If Peter and Drax made each other happy, Groot hoped they would keep kissing each other for a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

3. Rocket

Rocket wasn't sure when the one-night stands had stopped. One moment he had to deal with endless outsiders parading through the _Milano_, popping up at the breakfast table wearing one of Peter's shirts, getting their stink all over the couches, laughing too loudly and making disgusting noises when they spent the night. But then it all just…stopped. And that made Rocket suspicious. Very, very suspicious.

And hey, it's not that he was _worried_ or anything. Who cared if Peter had sworn off women (and men, and several other genders as well) after someone had unintentionally broken his heart? It wasn't exactly Rocket's number-one priority. After all, he had bombs to build, and guns to clean, and the _Milano_ wasn't going to maintain itself. But, he told himself, Peter had basically become their leader. If he was upset, that was going to mess up their entire team dynamic, and Rocket couldn't have that.

So one night he approached Peter. "You take a vow of chastity or something?"

"No," Peter snorted. "God. Why would I ever do that?"

"Well you stopped bringing random pickups back to the ship. What am I supposed to think?"

"Maybe I'm in a relationship, ever think of that?"

That just made Rocket laugh. "Yeah. Sure. You in a relationship. I'd pay to see that."

But it got him thinking. And he decided to do some digging. "Hey, Gamora. Peter's been acting weird lately, don't you think?"

She shrugged. "Define weird."

"He stopped picking up random dates, for one thing."

Gamora looked amused. "I wouldn't worry too much about that." And she refused to say another word, no matter how much Rocket pestered her.

Fine, maybe Groot had seen something. "Hey, Groot. You think anything's up with Peter?"

"I am Groot?"

"Well, he doesn't date around anymore. You think somebody hurt him or something?"

"I am Groot?"

"No, I ain't worried about him, but what if it messes up our team dynamic, or some shit like that?"

"I am Groot."

"What do you mean, stop asking you? Does that mean you don't know?"

"I am _Groot_." And, like Gamora, Groot stopped talking.

Fine. Drax, then. Drax roomed with Peter, he was sure to know something. "Hey, Drax. The hell is up with Peter? He say anything to you about why he stopped sleeping with anything and everything?"

Drax raised an eyebrow. "I don't see how that is any of your concern."

"I notice you're avoiding the question."

"I notice you're being quite intrusive. If Peter wants you to know the particulars of his sex life, he'll tell you himself." And Drax walked off, leaving Rocket to wonder what in the hell was going on and why everyone knew except him.

Until the day he walked into the bathroom at seven in the morning, too tired to realize the shower was running, and caught an eyeful of…well. Something no raccoon, especially a highly intelligent cybernetically-enhanced raccoon, wanted to see at seven AM.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Drax—very naked Drax—and Peter—oh-so-naked Peter—jumped apart. Peter made a noise that could only be called a yelp and used a shampoo bottle to cover his junk. Rocket could only stand there and sputter. Okay, so he'd gotten the answers he was after. Trouble was, now he really, _really_ wished he hadn't.

"You're _naked_!"

Drax, unlike Peter, didn't seem to care a single iota that Rocket could see his man-parts. "Yes, we are…people typically are when they fornicate," he said matter-of-factly. Like this was totally normal and not disturbing at all.

"Why are you _fornicating_ in the shower?"

Peter found his voice. "It's your fault for not doing this little thing called KNOCKING, you dumbass!"

"Well excuse me for not expecting to see a peep show in the damn bathroom at seven o'clock in the freakin' morning! You're screwing in the shower! In the morning! Who does that?"

"Only everyone who's ever had a sexual relationship in the history of sex, idiot!"

"Well, STOP IT!" Rocket shook his head hard, trying to mentally block out the image of what Drax and Peter had been doing when he walked in. Naked Drax and Peter were bad enough; sexed-up Drax and Peter were…ugh. Didn't wanna think about that. "Look, screw all you want, just don't do it where I can see it!"

"Then _knock_ next time!" Peter protested, but Drax put a hand on his shoulder. The internationally recognized sign for calm the hell down.

"It is all right, Peter. Let's take this back to your room."

"Good idea." Peter grabbed the nearest towel. "Uh. Sorry about this, Rocket."

"It's fine, just…" Rocket shook his head again. "Give a guy some warning, would you?"

Before Peter could remind him that he was the one who'd barged in, Drax dragged him away, leaving Rocket to stand there and seriously contemplate his life choices.

One thing was sure: he was never, _ever_ going to pry into Peter's life again.

He valued his sanity too much.


	4. Chapter 4

4. The Big Reveal

Peter hated to do it, but he called a team meeting. The whole thing had gone too far. Rocket had seen them naked, Gamora had threatened Drax's life, and Groot had made Drax give him flowers—which was totally sweet, but so unlike Drax. Enough was enough.

"Okay, guys. Here's the deal." Peter paced back and forth, while Drax leaned unconcernedly against the wall. Gamora, Groot, and Rocket were scrunched together on the lone couch, none of them too pleased at being there. "You've all found out some way or other, but just so everyone's on the same page…well, I just want to get it out in the open. Drax and I are together."

He waited for the reactions, but none came. So he repeated, "We're together. Sleeping together. You know. Dating, courting, whatever the hell you want to call it. Any questions?"

Groot looked up at them excitedly, a huge smile on his wooden face. "I am Groot?"

"He wants to know if you're going to, and I quote, 'keep kissing Drax forever,'" Rocket translated, looking disgusted.

Drax smiled too, came forward and looped an arm around Peter's shoulders. "I certainly hope he does, Groot."

Peter couldn't help but melt into Drax's touch. He leaned against Drax, smiling dreamily. "I hope so too."

"Bleeech." Rocket made a gagging noise. "Okay, cut the sappy cute shit. We get it. You two are screwing each other's brains out. Can we all move on? Unless Gamora's got anything to add?"

Gamora shrugged. "They already know what I think. Drax hurts Peter, I hurt him. Pretty easy to understand."

"I am Groot," Groot added, a slightly menacing look coming over his usually-gentle face.

"Groot says he'll help. Though actually, it's more likely to be Peter hurting Drax, not the other way around," Rocket pointed out. "Ya know, since Peter's the one with the history of hooking up with anything that moves."

"Rocket!" Peter looked at his friends, clearly frustrated. "Seriously? I'm not going to cheat on—" He turned to Drax. "You know I wouldn't cheat on you, right?"

"I am aware." Drax looked at Rocket. "You should have more faith in your teammate. And Gamora, your loyalty is commendable, but you should be aware that if I ever caused distress to Peter, I would turn my knife on myself long before you could reach me—"

"OKAY!" Peter cut in. "Okay, okay! Let's stop talking about suicide, okay? That sounds good, right?"

"I am Groot," Groot agreed solemnly.

Peter addressed the team again. "Okay…so we're all straight about what's going on?" He gestured between Drax and himself. "He and I are together. So yeah. No more spying on us. And no more awkward questions. Please?"

Rocket held up his hands mock-defensively. "Hey, I'm never following you again after what happened in the shower."

"What happened in the shower?" Gamora asked, looking curiously at Drax and Peter.

"Never mind," Peter said quickly.

"He caught us having relations," Drax explained, and Peter facepalmed. "What? It's true."

"Yeah, but they didn't need to know that!"

"No, we sure didn't," Rocket muttered.

And that was the end of it. Everyone knew, it was out in the open, everybody was cool with it, and everything was totally fine. Or so Peter thought, until his communicator rang one day and, being too distracted to check the caller ID, he answered it.

"Hey Yondu," he said, grimacing. "What's up?"

"What's this I hear about you shacking up with the frickin' Destroyer?"

_…Oh crap._


End file.
